Method of collecting and pumping water.



M. E. LAYNE. METHOD 0F COLLECUNG AND IPUMFING WATER. APPLICATQN mm APR.3.1911.

f Paten-ted Dee. 3, 1918,

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METHOD GF COLLECTING ANDVPUNIPING WATER. APPUCAHON FILED A'PR.3.1911.

QQJ@ Patented Dec. 3, 1918.

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MAHLON E. LAYNE, l OF MEMPHIS. TENNESSEE,

METHOD Ol? COLLECTING AND PUMPIG WATER.

I Specification of Letters Patenti i,

i Patented Dee. a, isis.

pplication filed April 3, 1917. SerialNo. 159,390. i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MAHLON E. LAYNE, a citizen of the yUnited States, residing at Memphis, in the county of Shelby and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Collecting and Pumping W'atei', of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates'to a inethod'of col.` lecting andv pumping water froml shallowy water bearing formations and has for its principal object the increasin of vthe fio of water which can be obtains f `l-leretofore, Vwhere the water bearing formationis inorefor less .shallow and has salt water bearing strata immediately below, it has been found difficult if not'impossible to opera-te the pump at its maximumV capacity, foi' by so doing the supply of fresh water immediately surrounding the pump was quickly exhausted, when if the operation wei'e persisted in, salt water would gradually flow in from beneathA and thereby render the supply objectionable for use. To overcome this difficulty it has been the custom in many localities to install a number of pumps, more or less closely adjacentto Y operating these pumps considerably below capacity, it has heretofore been vpossibleto draw a supply of water in something like usable quantities, from such shallow water bearing formations as have been mentioned.

.is a plan view Aof the arrangement shown It is one of the objects of this invention t o' reduce the number of pumps orr to substi tute for a number asingle pump capable bf supplying practically the same' quantity of water which Awas supplied by the many.

Previously when singlev pumps have been used the water, as was said4 above, was

rapidly'exhausted from the formation immediately surrounding the pump, thus peiy Ymitting the pressure/of work down into the ground thereby break-l` the atmosphere to ing the vacuum created by the suction of the ump. As a consequence, ,it.notheinghposm water to flow Yin rapidly f sides, Asalt or otherwise ob- 'lows yup from beneath and is pumped to the surface.

It is the specic object of my invention sible for thefres enough A,from the to increase the area affected by the vacuum of the pump so thata greater volume of freshwater may be obtained from a single pump, ln general the method by which I ying a greater and more constant flow -of water. y This sealing of the collecting spaces against atmospheric pressure is accomplished by saturating with water a certain area of the formation surrounding the" pump, and is more speciically described below.

I li'ave illustrated my new method of `col lecting and pumping water in the accompanyingl drawings, wlierein- Y' Figure 1 is a vertical section wherein the 4water bearing strata consists of sand immediately subjacent to astratum' of clay which is in turn immediately subjacent to -the top soil;` Fig. 2' is a plan view illustrating the manner in which the sealing Water is distributed; Fig? 3 is a partial section illustrating a method of treating formations which donot conta-in clay Fig. 4 is a section whibli illustrates the' application of my invention to rock formations;` and Fig.

in Fig. 't illustrating the method usedV for distributing the sealing water.

" Referring toflig` 1, the pump is indicated Iby the numeral 7 which in this case is of the rotaryimpeller' type -although other types ymay be fused. i The pump pit 8 extends down iiitot e fresh water'bea'ring sand 9 andtermiiiates in ther screen or strainer 10. The pump is operated by` abelt from any suitable: source of power by means of the pulley 11, the water discharging from the pipe-12iinto the trough-13 from which it is distributed by the pipe 14. lA portion of the water discharged is conducted by means of thefpipe 15 to the circular distributing tile 16 located just below the to soil 17 and immediately' above the clay (ii-mation ,55 4obtain this result consists iii sealing a'certain portion of the gathering area or collectving space f the clay above the wa Atheir being filled with dirt or refuse.

lsource of supply by `meal/rs of the main distributing tile 19 (see Fi 2). By this means bearing sand 9 is kept constantly wet ov/'er an extended area surrounding the pu;p, and-'forms' an excellent seal againstV atmosphericpressure.

from above. It will thus be seen that the edect of the vacuumof the pump Will now be felt not only/in the immediate vicinity of the pump, biit also at the extremity of the extent of the wetted clay. Instead ofv drawing from an area of small diameter the supply will.l be drawn fromv an area ofv greatly increased diameter with a consequent increase in the flow of water.'

In some-localities the water bear-ing sand may not be subjacent to clay, or other soil suitable for use in the mannerl described above as a seal against the pressure of the atmosphere. Inl such instances I excavate the forma vion above the water bearing strata,` substitutingl clay/atthe bottom of the excavation, (see Fig. 3). Broken rock or stone 19 is then "filled in as an'aid to the distribution of the l,sealing lWater by means of the tile 16l which is placed immediately above the rock or/ stone. Some of the excavated matter is llast thrown in and forms the surface or top soil. In/the method just described, it will be understood that it is not always necessary to have lclay, other soils being satisfactory, but clay is preferable as it is usuallyeasily available, at low cost and will not crack if the ground should settle, thereby brcakingthe seal.` v;

Figsfl and 5 illustrate my method asapplied t0 .,lrockvformations, also shallow. From the 1pump as a center, crossed concrete troughs 20 are 'built out into the area which iste be used to form the seal over the gathering or ,colle'tingspace. These vtroughs are built toa/C the pump and have constructed immediately below them the"culv'ertsv f2l. rIhe side walls of these troughs do not extend quite to the surface ofthe ground. Somewhat more shallow troughs 'or ditches 22 lare constructed as an aid to the distribution of the sealing water and extend between main troughs. All of the troughs and ditches are filledwith broken rock, cindcrs or stone 24,'(shown in Fig. 4l but omitted in Fig. 5) as an aid to the distribution and to prevent Part of the water discharged from the pump is led by means of the pipe 23 into this systemv or network of troughs, which after being filled overflow andA fill the interstices of the rock immediately surrounding the pump scribed, seal, the pump draws from the extended depthhab'out equalto that of.

which is generally very porous, especially in coral formations such as exist fol. eliample in Y Key West, Florida. This of course, substantially seals a certain area against atmospheric pressure from directly' above, and as in the case previously dewhere clay was used to form the area surrounding this seal instead of from the small' area immediately adjacent the pump pit. A

It. will beseen'that my method is very simplez -of so great a number of pumpsobviated. It will further be evident that the water distributing means, as shown in Figs. l, 2, and 3, being located underneathv acovering layer of soil will provide an effective seal with a minimumaequirement of water and such arrangement lwill also avoid rapid loss of water by evaporation and thus further in? y crease the area t u yat may be sealed for a given pump.

I claim:

l. In a method of vwells from which it which consists in determining the extent of the effect of the pump vacuum by sealing an area surrounding the suction pipe `of the collecting y liquidV in pump against atmospheric pressure" from above. Y 2. In a methodf-of collecting-liquid in which consists in determining the extent of wells from which it `is.pumped,.the step which consists in 'water sealing a predeterand that the eficiency of a single` pump' 1s greatly increased and the necessity 3. The herein described method of obtainesy is pumped,the step mined area against atmospheric pressure from above and 11i-drawing the water from" the protected area lying between the salt water strata and the seal. 5. The method of obtaining water from shallow water bearing formations subjac'ent to soil other than clay which consists finir removing the soil from an' areaimapplying a layer of clayy to the bottom of the exc' vation thus made, in covering the clay `ith broken rock or stones, in providing means to wet the clay, and in pumping the water from beneath the wetted cla l' l 6. In a vmethod of pumping water,"\ the step which consists in increasing the extent of the effect of the suction of a pumprky sealing with wet clay an area beneath the .surface surrounding the pump against ating e layer of clay to the bottom of the excavationthus made., in providing means to "Wet the clay, and in pumping the Water 10 from beneath the wetted clay. r

In testimony whereol have hereunto signed my name..

MAHLQN E. LAYNE. 

